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English count nouns have singular and plural forms. These nouns are called variable nouns. Other nouns are used either only in the singular or only in the plural. They are called invariable nouns.
Singular invariables (singularia tantum). Here belong:
1) material nouns: sand, gold;
2) abstract nouns: music, homework;
3) substantivized adjectives with abstract meaning: the inevitable, the evident;
4) proper names: London, the Thames;
5) some diseases: diabetes, mumps, measles, rabies, rickets, shingles;
6) some games: bowls, billiards, draughts, darts, skittles;
7) the word news;
8) subject names in - ics: aerobics, classics, genetics, linguistics, mathematics, phonetics, statistics, etc. Some of these nouns are occasionally used in the plural, when you are talking about a particular person’s work or activities: His politics are uncertain. The statistics are optimistic.
9) some proper nouns: Athens, Brussels, Wales, the United States, the United Nations.
10) collective nouns: money, advice, weather, jewellery, information, fruit. But: the fruits of my investigation. This drink is made from four tropical fruits. The tomato is a vegetable, not a fruit.
Plural invariables
1. Summation plurals (= nouns denoting objects consisting of two parts): braces, shorts, glasses, jeans, leggings, tights, trousers, scissors, scales, binoculars, etc.
Note. When you want to refer to a single piece of clothing or a single tool you can use “some” or “a pair of” in front of the noun. You can refer to more than one item by using a number or a quantifier with “pairs of”. When you use “a pair of” with a noun in the plural form, the verb is singular if it is in the same clause, and plural if it is in the following relative clause: A new pair of new shoes brings more happiness. He put on a new pair of shoes, which were waiting for him.
2. Substantivized adjectives denoting people: the rich, the poor, the old, the young, the English.
3. Miscellaneous nouns: wages, sweepings, the contents of a book (but the silver content of the coin), archives, arms, ashes, customs, earnings, goods, greens, looks, stairs, manners, minutes, outskirts, riches, surroundings, thanks, the Middle Ages.
4. Some proper names: The Netherlands, the Midlands, the Hebrides], the East Indies.
Note the singular and the plural form of the noun in the following patterns:
Don’t go into detail. ― Не вдавайтесь в детали. She described it in (great) detail. ― Она описала это в (мельчайших) подробностях. He has a good eye for detail. ― Он замечает все детали.
Note 1. Compound numerals with –one: twenty-one, thirty-one, etc. take a noun in the plural. Twenty-one students were present at the lecture. ― На лекции присутствовал двадцать один студент.
Note 2. The nouns grapes, carrots, beets, potatoes, onions, radishes, etc. are always plural when used collectively. Lemons contain a lot of vitamin C.
Note 3. There are a few nouns in English which have only the plural form and lack the singular (pluralia tantum nouns). But they happen to be homonyms of nouns which are used in both forms, i.e. regular plural. These nouns are:
1) colour — colours (= hues) — colours (= regimental flags)
2) a force — forces (= powers) — forces (= an army)
3) a custom — customs (= habits) — customs (= taxis on imported goods)
4) a draught — draughts (= currents of air) — draughts (= a game)
5) a glass — glasses (= vessels for drinking from) — glasses (= spectacles)
6) a manner — manners (= ways) — manners (= behaviour)
7)a moral — morals (= lessons of a story) — morals (= standards of behaviour)
8) a minute — minutes (= spaces of time) — minutes (= secretary’s record of proceedings)
9) a quarter — quarters (= forth parts) — quarters (= lodgings)
Some nouns which belong to the singularia tantum group are occasionally used in the plural form for stylistic reasons suggesting a great quantity or extent: the sands of the Sahara; the snows and frosts of the Arctic; the waters of the Atlantic; the blue skies of Italy; in all weathers, etc.
Note 4. Some nouns which are singular in English are plural in Russian: applause, cream, debate, fighting, evidence, gossip, hair, ink, knowledge, progress, a gate, a funeral, a watch, a sledge, a race, a vocation.

Top law enforcement officials at the Justice Department and the FBI indicated to their counterparts at the White House that they could not, and were unwilling to, return documents to the Louisiana Republican which were seized as part of a bribery investigation.

CBS News has learned that there was concern among prosecutors and FBI agents that the White House would give in to Congressional pressure and return the materials to Jefferson. But, according to the administration official, Mueller, Gonzales and his top deputy Paul McNulty made it clear that they "going to the final end of the mat" to keep them.

It's hard to believe they learned anything from the Dan Rather debacle.

On the other hand, I condemn Pakistan for letting terrorists hide inside of it's borders. We wouldn't go in looking for bad guys if the Pakis would weed them out themselves. They aren't our friends, and we should stop pretending that they are.

DAMADOLA, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan on Saturday condemned a deadly airstrike in which the U.S. reportedly targeted al-Qaida's second-in-command, as villagers whose homes were destroyed denied the militant was ever there and thousands of Pakistanis protested the attack.

The statement came after U.S. networks, citing unnamed American intelligence officials, reported that a CIA-operated Predator drone aircraft carried out the missile strike Friday and that it was aimed at Ayman al-Zawahri in the Bajur tribal region of northwestern Pakistan.

This next part didn't make any sense. The normal way for us to do an attack like this would be by using Predators which are both very quiet and limited in what they carry. Two Hellfire missiles at the most, not 8 bombs. Not very likely that anybody would see or hear them in the dark, or have 8 bombs dropping from just one or two of them.

Zaman said he heard planes at around 2:40 a.m. and then eight explosions. Speaking as he dug through the rubble of his home, he said planes had been flying over the village for the last three or four days.

"I ran out and saw planes were dropping bombs," said Zaman, 40, who lost two sons and a daughter. "I saw my home being hit."

I'll wait for the DNA to come back.

UPDATE: The New York Times prints a photo that shows what they identify as one of the missiles. It looks like a 155mm artillary round, which isn't delivered by any kind of plane, but they are popular with building IED's. One of the guys at Free Republic says it looks used because of the rifling, so it could have been a dud fired at the house. I'm curious if the round might have already been at the location.

What the hell does she want? This girl is suing her school for telling her mother what she did to get in trouble at school. Apparently everybody but her mom knew she liked muff diving, so of course the school is now being sued by the ACLU for violating her "right" to privacy.

If you aren't hiding it in public, you don't have a right to hide it at home.

School districts cannot "out" gay students to their parents even if their sexual orientation is known on campus, a federal judge ruled this week in allowing a discrimination lawsuit against an Orange County school district to go forward.

The lawsuit alleges that Garden Grove Unified School District officials unfairly disciplined a 17-year-old student this year for hugging and kissing her girlfriend on campus; revealed her sexual orientation to her mother; and forced the teen to temporarily change schools.

The district had sought to have senior Charlene Nguon's lawsuit dismissed, arguing in part that Nguon had no expectation of privacy regarding her sexual orientation, because she was openly gay at school.

Judge Selna needs a kick to the balls, and totally off the bench. Good judgement should be the bare necessity for being a judge.

BTW, most schools have rules against making out on campus no matter what sexes are involved.

UPDATE:
Just for Old Coot, I found Ms. Nguon's picture. Oddly enough, the ACLU isnt so concerned about protecting her privacy that they aren't willing to post her photo on their website. Sorry, no video.

Really, I should have seen this coming. Apparently, the giant ape is symbolic of the white man's oppression of blacks.

Most black men I know will think twice about going to see King Kong. First because of the story, second because of Peter Jackson's other recent blockbuster movies.

The story feeds into all the colonial hysteria about black hyper-sexuality. This imagery has a long history and is difficult to shift.

Oh yeah, Lord of the Rings was totally racist too according to Kwame. Then he takes a jab at Darwin that made no sense at all.

The story also touches the raw nerve of the Darwin-based association between black men and apes. Though the monkey noises and the discussion about whether Africans are the missing link between apes and humans may be out of the classroom, it still has to be endured by black footballers when they travel to away games.

I never thought I'd defend Darwin, but his writings associated ALL men with apes, not just the black ones.

The best way to fight racism without actually doing any kind of work? Vote for Garfield Ridge, Ace of Spades HQ and Seven Deadly Sins. Those guys would never vote for Robert Byrd.